94 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



anomalous bird, and also it is gregarious. In Riverina 

 I saw families of eight or a dozen Grey Jumpers travel- 

 ling on the ground or among the trees, one after the 

 other, as if they were playing "follow the leader." A 

 coach-driver gravely informed me that they were 

 Larks. The nest of the Apostle-Bird is about the 

 same size as, but more elegant than, that of the 

 Magpie-Lark. Several nests were seen in a pad- 

 dock that was stocked with lusty young horses, a 

 troop of fifty or more. The animals were sportive 

 and curious, and wherever I went they followed. 

 When I began to climb a She-oak tree to examine a 

 Grey Jumper's nest, the whole troop charged up and 

 stood in a semi-circle, watching. I dropped a toma- 

 hawk, accidentally, which caused the colts to kick up 

 their hind hoofs, snort, and toss their heads. When 

 I descended, however, they retired and kept at a 

 respectful distance. But no sooner was the in- 

 truder over the fence than the mob charged valiantly 

 to the rails. It was a laughable experience, and re- 

 minded me of Gulliver's adventures among the 

 Houyhnhnms; only the behaviour of these Riverina 

 horses was anything but "orderly and rational, acute 

 and judicious." 



Grey Jumpers' eggs are bluish-white, blotched 

 with umber and purple; from five to eight form the 

 clutch. It is fairly certain that two females, per- 

 haps more, lay in the one nest ; so that the gregarious 

 instinct dominates this species, as it does the White- 

 winged Chough. 



A Chough's nest found in the Mallee sanctuary, 

 from which I have been led astray, was particularly 

 interesting; it had evidently been used in several suc- 

 cessive seasons, and was of great size, weighing per- 

 haps 9 Ibs. 



Rambling through the scrub, we observed signs 

 of the Echidna [Echidna aculeata], but the shy little 

 animals kept out of sight. The "Native Porcupine" is 



